Silo Ridge still finds a way to support local food drive

AMENIA — The Silo Ridge Dinner Dance is by far the largest fundraiser of the many Sunday in the Country Food Drive events held throughout the fall.

But due to the planned renovations to the site, which have forced the club to close for a short duration, Silo Ridge is unable to host the event at its country club. The food drive has managed to find a new (albeit smaller) venue at Amenia’s Immaculate Conception Church. But a new update reveals that Silo Ridge is still working to be as involved as it can be in an event that raised nearly $20,000 last year.

“NASCAR� Dave MacMillan, the food drive’s founder, said he received a phone call from Rob Caeners, general manager for Silo Ridge, who revealed that the club would be picking up the tab for all the food for the event. The news came as a relief to MacMillan.

“It’s a really nice thing that they could still be involved,� he said. “Because that’s where it originated. That’s their event as far as I’m concerned.�

Other than the chicken cook-off, the dinner dance is the oldest event in the food drive’s history, which includes nearly a dozen events and fundraisers set up to assist families in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Last year a little over $46,000 was raised, resulting in 550 Thanksgiving dinners and 530 Christmas dinners distributed across 13 local food pantries in the Tri-state area.

This year, the food drive is setting its first-ever funding goal: $50,000. And getting the extra boost from Silo Ridge will definitely keep Sunday in the Country on track.

Tickets to the event are $20, and MacMillan said the cost of food would have taken around $8 away from the profits made off every ticket. He estimated that the dinner dance could be looking at a $25,000 (or more) night for this year’s dinner dance.

“We couldn’t be happier,� he said. “We’re all pretty ecstatic.�

Tickets for the event are already on sale at Jack’s Auto in Wassaic and will soon be available at other locations. Immaculate Conception will only accommodate 325 seats, 50 fewer than last year’s event at Silo Ridge, so space is sure to fill up quickly.

For more information on donating to the raffle or to purchase tickets, organizer Linda Gregory can be reached at 845-373-9757.

Daisi Hill Day of Fun

Approaching quickly on the Sunday in the Country calendar is the Day of Fun at Daisi Hill Farm in North East. Running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, MacMillan’s “Hometown Sunday Morning� radio show on Sharon’s WHDD-FM will be broadcasting live from the event until noon. The event is free to the public, and there will be hay rides, pumpkin-chucking contests, a corn maze and lots of other fun activities to help celebrate fall. A portion of that day’s proceeds will benefit the food drive.

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